School receives grant to promote public health education

School receives grant to promote public health education

The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health has received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to encourage kids to pursue careers in public health.

The program targets youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds attending schools in health professional shortage areas on the south and west sides of Chicago.

Participants will have access to educational resources, research training and mentoring opportunities through public health assemblies, curriculum, public health science clubs and academic enrichment programs to prepare them to enter traditional or online degree programs in health sciences.

"The idea is to pique the student's interest in the health professions and give them the training to be more competitive to enter programs to become health scientists, professors in public health and health practitioners," says Shaffdeen Amuwo, associate dean of the UIC School of Public Health.

Careers in the healthcare industry are projected to grow dynamically in the coming years. For example, according to Labor Department analysts a total of 1 million nurses will be needed to care for the aging population, and some 587,000 new nursing jobs will be created nationwide by 2012.

Moreover, estimates suggests that demand for public health workers will grow by 24 percent until at least 2016, with top salaries exceeding $64,000.